Ohio, 2002

Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Ohio, September 20, 2002

September 20, 2002 · NWS IWX · 4 events in 3 counties and zones

2 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 20, 2:20 PM EST, 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 20, 2:20 PM EST, 55 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
220 PM EST FRI SEP 20 2002

UPPER TROF WILL LIFT TO NORTHEAST EARLY TNGT AS SFC LOW AND FRONT
SHIFT EAST. SEVERE THREAT TO CONTINUE INTO EARLY EVENING FOR SE
CWA. DEEP MOISTURE AND LLVL CONVERGENCE WILL BE EAST OF CWA BY
SAT MORNING AS FRONT SLIDES THROUGH. COMPROMISE ON TMPS BETWEEN
MET/MAV AS MET LOOKS TOO WARM AND MAV TOO COLD. DRY SATURDAY
UNDER HIGH THEN CHGS MADE FOR SAT NITE AND SUNDAY AS SIGNIFICANT
SHRTWV PUSHES STRONGER FRONT TOWARD CWA LATE SAT NITE INTO SUNDAY.
ETA SEEMS TO BE LACKING QPF BASED ON PROGGED LIFT AND SOME AVAILABLE
MOISTURE SO WILL GO LOW CHC POPS SAT NITE WEST AND CHC ENTIRE CWA
SUNDAY. THEN DRY AND COOL UNDER HIGH PRESSURE UNTIL THURSDAY WHEN
NEXT STRONG SYSTEM BRINGS ANOTHER FRONT. WILL KEEP FRIDAY DRY
ALTHOUGH COULD BE A FEW SHOWERS WITH DEEP TROF COMING ACROSS LAKES.

.IWX...NONE.

RES

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 135 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:15 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Allen

When
September 20, 3:15 PM EST
Where
Allen County, Spencerville
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.700, -84.350

Emergency management reported a tree down as a result of the wind gust.

Tornado, Allen

When
September 20, 3:41 PM EST to 3:42 PM EST
Where
Allen County, 5 mi E of Delphos
Rating
F1
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.833, -84.233

Emergency management reported power lines and large trees were blown down. 6 homes suffered shingle and window damage.

Thunderstorm Wind, Putnam

When
September 20, 3:45 PM EST
Where
Putnam County, 1 mi W of Vaughnsville
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.883, -84.167

Storm spotters reported power lines down in the area.

Tornado, Van Wert

When
September 20, 4:15 PM EST to 4:17 PM EST
Where
Van Wert County, Van Wert
Rating
F0
Path length
4 mi
Path width
100 yd
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.867, -84.567

County Emergency Management reported the tornado touched down at 300 yards north of Kear Road in the city of Van Wert and 300 yards east of John Brown Road. It continued on the ground for around 4 miles, causing roof damage to 3 homes, as numerous trees twisted and snapped. A barn was also damaged by the tornado. The tornado lifted 1 mile east of US-127 and 1/2 mile north of Convoy Rd. There was another brief touchdown at US-127 and 1/2 mile north of Fife Road, where the tornado traveled roughly 100 yards before dissipating.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Ohio in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Ohio, 2002Warnings in Ohio, September 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5315734, 5315733, 5315676, 5315675.